Ground Fire on B-767 Cargo Jet

The National Transportation Safety Board has sent a team of specialists to investigate a ground fire that erupted June 28 aboard a parked Boeing B-767 cargo jet at San Francisco International. About 10:00 p.m. PDT, the flight crew of a Boeing B-767 (N799AX), operated by Airborne Express as Cargo Flight 1611, reported smoke and fire just aft of the cockpit while preparing to start the engines. The airplane was parked at the time, and all cargo had been loaded. Both flightcrew members exited the airplane safely via cockpit window. The airport rescue and firefighting unit extinguished the fire; however, a hole had burned through the crown of the aircraft above the forward galley area.